If watching real-life media coverage of missing persons isn’t hard enough, especially in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, there’s a movie that accurately reflects the insanity.

In David Fincher’s latest project Gone Girl, a husband comes home to his wife on their five-year anniversary to see a few pieces of furniture out of place and ultimately learns his wife is missing.

Playing the role of Nick Dunne, Ben Affleck takes on an overwhelmed and bewildered husband trying not only to find out what happened to her, but also to stave off the media attention long enough to compose himself.

The audience meets the lead detective on the case, Rhonda Boney, played by Kim Dickens, who sniffs out a number of odd things and stays objective unlike her partner.

This movie does a great job of challenging not only what it means to “act normally” in this situation but also the way the media covers a missing person case.

This is easily one of the best films of the year thus far and one that shouldn’t be missed.

If a cerebral suspense thriller that keeps the audience guessing up until the big reveal sounds appealing, this movie should top the list of what to see next.

— Jamil Oakford